


City of Color

by KayaK1ng



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Callie shall not be left lonely!, F/F, be warned there’s tasteful swearing, during octo expansion, lesbian squidkids, post splatoon2 story mode, super duper gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-06-27 12:19:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15685314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KayaK1ng/pseuds/KayaK1ng
Summary: Her day was perfectly normal until her weird yellow friend dragged her down a sewer and screwed up her life. Figures.





	1. The Sewer (It kinda reminds me of a chum)

Inkopolis is beautiful, almost peaceful in the morning. Soft sunlight turns the city an array of warm colors, illuminating the tall skyscrapers and towers, giving the city a serene atmosphere. The earlier hours of the day are the quietest, when a large portion of inklings (who have stayed up all night partying) are crashed in their beds (or others’) and are catching up on sleep. As a result, many of the shops and restaurants close a few hours before sunrise and open just before noon.

I am one of the few souls who is able to enjoy Inkopolis in the morning without accidently falling asleep in the meantime. Inkopolis’ night life is certainly addictive, and I have to admit that I’ve fallen into patterns of irregular sleep a few times due to midnight revelling. But as I’m maturing, I’ve realized how short life is to waste it on alcohol and other… stuff. 

So let’s set up the scene. It’s a quarter to eight in the morning. A female teenage inkling is sitting at a table lit up by the rising sun, beside her a cup of coffee and an open book. Many of the shops around her are locked up and dark inside, and few creatures have emerged from their houses yet. A perfectly normal, everyday scenario.

It’s a habit of mine to occasionally raise my head from my book to receive warning of when the masses will come flooding into the Square. Sometimes, I’m so absorbed in the words on the pages that before I know it, hundreds of cephalopods have already come crashing into my glass wall of silence, talking about the latest trends, taking pictures for Squidstagram, pushing their way into shops and checking into multiplayer lobbies. At this time, I will retreat from the square and find a quieter place to read my book. Don’t get me wrong, I love chattering with my friends, splatting a few enemies, all that jazz. But lately, I’ve felt like an outsider, with my main crew so busy growing up, and the new kids taking over. I’m honestly just waiting for a change. Some new shops around here would be nice. Some new 'fresh' trends maybe. We're always seeing the same exact stuff.

I take another sip of coffee, the taste a little bitter on my tongue. I look around quickly to see that the square is still pretty empty; there’s a few inklings chattering outside the multiplayer lobby, preparing for an early morning turf war (you’d have to be insane to jump straight into ranked so soon after waking up); some octolings sipping hot beverages on benches a ways away; and faintly, in a dark corner near Ammo Knights, a figure edging along the wall. That’s kinda fishy.

I narrow my eyes at the cloaked figure and thank whatever celestial being grants perfect vision. I can see the inkling’s short yellow tentacles peeking out from the hood, framing a feminine chin and mouth that I assume belongs to a girl. The inkling’s movements reveal a bit of clumsiness, occasionally bumping into walls and knocking over random objects due to her limited vision. I feel myself break into a smile as my brain connects the short tentacles and the bumbling actions to a specific inkling that I happen to know. I study her from afar for a few more moments while finishing off the rest of my coffee. I grab my book in one hand and toss the empty cup into the trash with the other as I start to jog after the inkling.

“Sadie!” I call out to her, intrigued as to why the hell she’s up so early in the morning. Sadie visibly jumps, turns around, and then breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Oh, cod. You scared me, QK!” QK, or Quad-kill is a nickname I earned from the strategy I use during splat zones matches. I always position myself near the enemy team’s spawn and splat them as they race toward the zone. It’s dirty, but a squid’s gotta do whatever it takes to make it to the top. When Sadie says ‘QK’ it always sounds like ‘Kewkay’.

Now that I think about it, I haven’t battled alongside Sadie in a while… Every time I ask her to do ranked with me she’s either sleeping or working a part-time shift (at a job she won’t tell me). A moment of awkwardness crosses between us and I know her well enough to see that she wants to turn tail and swim / run away right at that moment. Almost as if she can foresee my next question.

“So… getting in some early turf wars, huh?” I break the silence.

“Um, not really,” She blushes and stares at her feet. This behavior is unusual for Sadie, someone who’s usually loud and unafraid of filling quiet with meaningless chatter. I wait for her to elaborate, but she doesn’t, so I nudge her again.

“Salmon Run shift?”

“...No.”

One thing I admire about Sadie is that she can’t lie. She physically cannot lie. She always feels the need to tell the truth as long as the truth is not hurting anyone. “Do you have a secret boyfriend?” I tease her, half joking, but also wondering if I’m hitting the mark.

I can practically see the sweat on her face as she answers “No! Why would you think that?”

“You’re being awfully suspicious, sneaking around in a dark hoodie so early in the morning… Are you sure you’re okay? Did you sleep enough?” I put a hand to her forehead jokingly. For a moment I feel a flash of guilt as I think I have pushed her too far. I’m being too nosy, getting all up in her business. Sometimes this can be a problem for me; not knowing when to loosen up on the aggressive interrogation. 

But Sadie suddenly looks up and gives me a suspiciously enthusiastic grin. “Q…. Can you keep a secret?”

These words paired with her sudden change in tone surprise me. We’ve known each other since we were fourteen and I’ve never unlocked my lips to reveal any of the secrets she’s whispered to me. “Of course, Sadie.” 

She takes a deep breath, seemingly calming her excitement. “Okay. Well… You see…. The thing is….. I’m part of a- You know what, I think it’s better if I show you.”

For some reason I remember the bitter taste of the coffee I drank earlier, and that same taste seems to spread into my chest in the form of a nervous sensation. Sadie takes my hand and stops just before a sewer grate. It's a nasty green color inside. Kinda like a Salmonoid green.

“Jump,” She says, “Like this.” Then the inkling that I consider one of my closest friends promptly turns into a squid and vanishes into the sewer grate. 

My jaw drops as I stare at the spot where my friend just was a few moments ago. 

Jumping into a sewer…. Is definitely not a fresh thing to do. Sadie has never been an inkling to partake in non-fresh activities. Or so I thought. 

Hesitantly, I step onto the sewer grate, hugging my book tighter to my chest. I morph into squid form.

And I feel myself falling.


	2. Sadie's Secret

It’s like I just blinked and suddenly I’m in a different location. I can’t recall any memory of travelling or any sensation or feeling. Just popping out of another grate as a squid, and instinctively turning back into an inkling. My surroundings are a little dizzy but I can clearly make out a few noteworthy things. To my right…. A giant snow globe, inside is an Octarian, who I recognize from the news as DJ Octavio. The snow globe seems like it makes a flimsy cage. Whose idea was it to put the King of the Octarians in a snow globe of all things? I turn my head to the left a bit and see Sadie standing protectively over me, speaking to two other inklings of pink and green coloring…. 

Carp. My train of thought is lost as I recognize the two inklings. They are dressed differently than all of Inkopolis knows them, but there’s no doubt.

It’s the Squid Sisters.

_The fucking Squid Sisters_

Marie and Callie.

In all of their glory. 

Even wearing casual clothes, the famous cousins manage to radiate superiority. The way they hold themselves feels as though they are being filmed, as if all eyes are trained on them, waiting for their next move. I suppose growing up under the spotlights will do that to you.

Callie tenses. Her hand inches to a roller laying a few feet away. Marie shifts her weight toward Callie and fiddles with her umbrella. Neither of them says anything, both inklings’ eyes fixed on me. 

On _me_. That’s something I never ever thought would happen in my wildest dreams. Both of the Squid Sisters watching me with their full attention. Surreal.

Marie’s cool voice echoes throughout the area. “An explanation, Agent 4?”

_Agent?_ I feel kind of dizzy...

“A close friend of mine.” Sadie says, crossing her arms, “Knows her way around a gun. You said you needed help with patrols when the other agents are away, so here we are.”

“Whoa Sadie,” I blurt, cursing myself as the words fall out of my mouth, “I never agreed to anything. I didn’t know what I was expecting when you lead me down here, but certainly not anything like- like this!”

Marie ignores me and speaks directly to the inkling who lead me here (I’m starting to wonder what else she’s hiding), “Agent 4. A word.”

Sadie trudges toward Marie, who leads her into a shack. Marie sharply closes the curtains, presumably to lecture the ‘Agent’ about bringing other inklings into whatever crazy weird world this is. But then again, this is Inkopolis. Everything is crazy weird.

Callie is still sitting in the same spot, less tense now that she has seen my blank, confused expression, more relaxed knowing that I’m probably not going to assassinate them all. Her legs swing back and forth like a child and somehow I can’t believe that this girl, this woman is in front of me. 

She stands up, blowing a bubble with her pink bubblegum. “I’m Agent 1,” She says after it pops. “But you probably know me as Callie from the Squid Sisters.” She makes the signature Squid Sister pose. Deep down I can tell that she’s a little uncomfortable with me being there, getting all up in their business. Even if it wasn’t really my decision.

I decide to take the initiative. “Nice to meet you Agent 1. I’m Quies.” I extend my hand to her. Almost on instinct, Callie takes my hand and shakes it with warmth, but at the same time kind of robotically. 

Her eyes fall to the book clutched in my left hand. “Soo…. Whatcha reading?” 

I look down and try to remember, my thoughts all jumbled from shaking hands, touching hands with one of the Squid Sisters. “Oh. Just stories from the Great Turf War.” It seems so silly now.

Callie looks unimpressed as she pops another bubble. “My Grandpa fought in that.”

I nod awkwardly. “Cool.”

Silence.

I’ll be honest, I’ve always been more of an Ink Theory fan so I only know a few of the Squid Sisters’ more popular songs. I’ve heard Calamari Inkantation, of course (who hasn’t), as well as the cousins’ solo songs during the infamous splatfest (the one that no one’s supposed to talk about but everyone does anyway). But Callie and Marie, coddamn, they were the Inkopolis News Anchors when I first started battling so they’ve always had a special, sentimental place in my heart.

I honestly have no idea what to say. So I try for humor.

“So… Are all music icons secret agents?” I joke, trying to shake this uncomfortable tension lingering between us.

Callie looks at me weirdly. “Not…. all of them. But that’s a long story.” That was certainly not the answer I was expecting…

Marie and Sadie emerge from the little shack thing. Sadie has a big grin plastered all over her face and Marie is still stone faced. 

“So.” The white-tentacled Squid Sister says. “Quies.” She pronounces my name slowly and carefully. The way she says it oozes laziness but It’s actually kind of scary. “You have two options.” Marie holds up a finger and continues, “Return to Inkopolis and forget everything; you won’t mention this to _anyone_ , even Agent 4, who never should have brought you here in the _first place_.”

She glares about as fiercely as a sea slug at Sadie, who snickers like a tentakook. Marie continues more reluctantly with the second option, “Or…. you could help out around here. Patrol, shoot down loose Octarians, stuff like that,” I can’t believe my ears. “Look. Gram- er the current leader of the New Squidbeak Splatoon left me in charge to oversee patrols and shit. We’re short a few agents at the moment so I guess it could potentially help to have another set of hands around here, and Agent 4 says you’re decent with a blaster. You wouldn’t be a full agent, of course. But whatever, it’s your decision.” 

I look to Sadie, who’s standing next to Marie and smiling and vigorously giving me two thumbs up. Callie’s sitting on a ledge of the shack, staring at her feet, which are swinging back and forth. Her shoulders are a tensed up but her face looks indifferent to everything going on.

I feel like I’m intruding on something important. Something that’s not lighthearted and fun like the rest of Inkopolis values. Figures it’s because of Sadie. The girl’s never been the best at knowing the boundaries, like me, I guess. It’s probably why we make such a great team, despite our differences.

I shouldn’t be here.

But. Sadie and I _do_ make a good team. 

I turn and look Marie in the eye. “I’ll do it.”

The woman just looks at me. “Fine.” She shifts her attention to Sadie, “Just so you know, Sad- Agent 4, next time you bring one of your friends down here, I will _not_ be as lenient, am I clear?” Sadie nods innocently like _‘Of course wonderful and amazing Marie, I won’t let you down!’_

“This is a _one-time_ thing, understand?” Marie hardens her gaze at Sadie as if she knows just what’s going down in that yellow head of hers. The short-tentacled inkling rolls her eyes and fake salutes. “Yes captain.”

“Great. Agent 4, come with me to get a hero suit for Quies. Then you’re gonna show her the ropes.” They disappear into the shack.

Callie yawns. “Morning patrols, everyone hates the first shift, so naturally we make the newer agent or agents do it.” She explains.

“Oh,” I say, unable to shake this uncomfortable feeling that lingers when we’re alone together. _With Callie of the Squid Sisters._

I’m feeling a little faint...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol I just started using AO3 and I didn't realize that I had to manually input HTML until now oops


	3. Associate Q

Associate. That’s what I’m going to be called, according to Marie. “Well, Associate Q is your official title.” She looks really proud of herself for coming up with that.  


Callie, who’s scrolling through Squidstagram, smirks and says it’s a stupid name. Sadie voices her agreement with this opinion. I secretly want to as well but I decide that it would be better to not piss off my boss / very famous pop star on my first day of work.

Marie looks boredly offended for a moment. Then she shooes us off to kill Octarians.

I’ll admit. I’m nervous. Everything about this place sets me on edge; The towering canyons, the foreign smells, the way enemy ink is spread so thick among the ground. Also the fact that I’ve never killed an Octarian. I’ve never even seen one in real life.

“Sorry about Marie back there,” Sadie jabs me lightly in the ribs, “She’s no fun at all,” She giggles a little, then realizes I’m not laughing with her. “Hey, I’m sorry if I caught you off guard with the whole thing. It’s just that… I consider you one of my closest friends. I’d entrust my life to you. You’re so good at ranked that I thought if anyone could do this job and not get killed instantly, it’s you. And, honestly it gets a little boring around here with those two so uptight all the time… Marie and Callie are in bigger trouble with the Octarians than they let on. Ever since Callie got hypnotized they’re paranoid something else will happen… Cod Marie was practically begging you to stay! Damn, I should’ve gotten it on video!” Sadie finishes her rant and ends it short and sweet. “So yeah. I’m glad you’re here.”  
Even though I _want_ to ask her how the hell she got caught up in this mess, how Callie got hypnotized, and a bunch of other questions, I’ve resolved to treat this whole thing as an adventure and see where it takes me. So I say “Yeah, Me too!”

“So you’re not mad or anything?” Sadie sounds relieved. I’m flattered by her confession, about how she thinks I’m good at ranked (decent, maybe. Good? No way), about how she considers me one of her closest friends.

“Weirded out, yes. Mad, no. So. Teach me how to kill Octarians.” I grin, holding up the Hero Shot I was given.

-:- 

Turns out it’s just like Turf War except the Octarians probably aren’t going to party with you.

The pictures of them look much more menacing than they actually are in real life… If it weren’t for those stupid machines they’re standing in the Octarians would be half my height. Sadie and I spend the next three hours travelling between four out of the five zones in the Octo Canyon (They said that Cephalon HQ is out of limits because it’s constantly swarming with hostile Octarians), talking, enjoying the quiet and the screams of Octarians as we shoot them down. That might sound psychopathic but lemme explain: The Octarians respawn just the way that Inklings do when we get splatted; They return back to their base, which happens to be in Cephalon HQ. So yeah. We might seem insane but we’re not.

This whole thing explains why Sadie’s been absent from battles lately. Huh. Also explains her “part-time job”.

My yellow friend gushes about how she ended up working as part of the Squidbeak Splatoon; following a mysterious green figure in a bathrobe- “It’s a kimono. An ancient human garment,” I correct her. I’ve always been a history nerd. She gives me a look that says she doesn’t care and continues- about how she hadn’t recognized Marie at first and thought she was part of Off the Hook because Sadie knew she’d seen her on TV but she didn’t know where, and the two had originally hated each other but they learned to work together and now they’re really close and hang out a lot.  
I nod like a good friend, just a teensy bit jealous of both Sadie and Marie; Jealous of Sadie because coddamn she’s close with Marie of the Squid Sisters, jealous of Marie because she’s the reason my friend has been gone from my life.

After Sadie’s filled me in on the last few months, we head back to the the shack, where the Squid Sisters (I _still_ can’t believe they’re the actual _fucking_ Squid Sisters) have left a note saying that they headed out to town to grab some brunch.

“Well,” Sadie’s scribbling a note to the cousins, “I guess we’re done for today. Wanna do something? Like go shopping, or play Turf War?”

“Sure,” I reply, packing up the hero suit, “I don’t know about you, but I’m done with shooting things down for today. Shopping?”

“Shopping it is then!”

-:- 

We’re back in Inkopolis Square within a few minutes. We pop back out through the sewer and walk through the crowds of people, window-shopping _just like nothing ever happened_. Like we weren’t just shooting Octarians and hanging out with undercover pop stars and teleporting through sewer grates.

“You seem a bit out of it… Are you okay?” Sadie pokes my arm. We’re in Ye Olde Cloth Shoppe looking for fresh tops.

“Um yeah,” I respond distractedly. A total lie. All I can think about is what happened just a few hours ago. Did I dream that whole thing? I think so. Everything is so mundane now, it _must_ have been a dream. A really great one….

“Do you like this sweater?” Sadie twirls around dramatically. Honestly it’s really flipping ugly. But I guess I’ve never _really_ been someone to understand ‘fresh’ fashion.

“No,” I say, flipping through other tops, “But if you like it, go for it.”

“Eh, I guess the color’s a little obnoxious,” Sadie admits. She puts the sweater back on the rack without much remorse and browses through other clothing with me.

-:- 

When we’re done shopping we grab a quick lunch and then part ways.

“I know you’re always up early so…. Octo Canyon same time tomorrow?” Sadie asks as we stand outside the restaurant, ready to part ways.

“Sure,” I scratch my arm, completely convinced I’m about to wake up from some twisted illusion in a few moments.

“Alright! So 8 am in Inkopolis Square! Don’t forget! See you!” Sadie waves to me as she dashes away to watch whatever new TV show she’s obsessed with. Or whatever she’s doing.

Cod.

I left my book at Octo Canyon, I realize as I watch my friend scurry away.

This is actually happening, isn’t it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woop so I guess we know now that its not an illusion ; )
> 
> hey something that I was curious about: do you guys have a lucky ink color that you feel like you play better in? Mine is green, any shade. IDEK why but I always feel more confident when I play with green ~


End file.
